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Storm Signal No. 4 raised as mighty Yolanda barrels toward the Visayas
On some satellite images, this storm is a bright red fireball charging towards the country's islands, like duckpins in a bowling alley.
Super typhoon Yolanda is packing enough ferocity for PAGASA to raise Public Storm Signal No. 4, the highest warning level, in Eastern Visayas.
Landfall in Guiuan, Eastern Samar is expected between 9:00 to 10:00 AM Friday, according to PAGASA, but strong winds and heavy rain will hammer much of the country.
With maximum sustained winds of 215 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 250 kph as of 4:00 PM Thursday, Typhoon Yolanda is shaping up to be the strongest typhoon of 2013, even fiercer than Typhoon Odette (Usagi) that battered Batanes last September.
READ: Super typhoon Yolanda is the strongest storm this year
With Yolanda still over 600 km away from land, it can be expected to gain even more strength before making landfall smack in the middle of the archipelago.
Storm signals
Canceled flights, classes
Local budget carriers Cebu Pacific, TigerAir Philippines, AirAsia Philippines and AirAsia Zest canceled a number of domestic and international flights as Typhoon Yolanda approached.
Several provinces and cities in Yolanda's path have also canceled classes, along with work in government offices and the public sector except for those in risk reduction, rescue and rehabilitation efforts.
In a message delivered Thursday night on national television, President Benigno Aquino III asked Filipinos to cooperate with authorities and engage in "bayanihan" or community self-help amid the threat of Typhoon Yolanda.
Thousands of residents were moved from coastlines, river banks, and mountain slopes to safer spots, while military transport vehicles were put on standby.
Hospitals were put on alert, with schools and some offices shut and power and communication lines turned off for safety.
Officials used bullhorns to urge residents of coastal and upland villages to move to safer areas, as trees were trimmed and boats dragged to shore.
An estimated 10 million people face disruption from typhoon Yolanda, say international relief agencies that are stepping up operations to tackle the storm.
"The humanitarian impact of Haiyan threatens to be colossal, not only in areas directly in its path, but also for nearby islands such as Bohol," said Patrick Fuller of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Particularly vulnerable, he added, were thousands of people living in makeshift shelters on Bohol after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake last month that killed more than 200 people and displaced thousands. — with reports from Kim Luces & Reuters/TJD/YA/HS, GMA News
Super typhoon Yolanda is packing enough ferocity for PAGASA to raise Public Storm Signal No. 4, the highest warning level, in Eastern Visayas.
Landfall in Guiuan, Eastern Samar is expected between 9:00 to 10:00 AM Friday, according to PAGASA, but strong winds and heavy rain will hammer much of the country.
With maximum sustained winds of 215 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 250 kph as of 4:00 PM Thursday, Typhoon Yolanda is shaping up to be the strongest typhoon of 2013, even fiercer than Typhoon Odette (Usagi) that battered Batanes last September.
READ: Super typhoon Yolanda is the strongest storm this year
With Yolanda still over 600 km away from land, it can be expected to gain even more strength before making landfall smack in the middle of the archipelago.
Storm signals
Typhoon Yolanda was last spotted 738 km southeast of Guiuan, Eastern Samar, according to PAGASA's 5:00 PM bulletin. From 30 kph, Yolanda is now moving west-northwest at 33 kph, PAGASA Weather Specialist II Jori Loiz said in a press briefing.
Signal Number 3 was issued in Northern Samar, Masbate, northern part of Cebu (including Cebu City), Bantayan Island, Siargao Island, and Dinagat Province.
Signal Number 2 was issued in Sorsogon, Romblon, Albay, Burias Island, Bohol, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Aklan, Capiz, Antique, Ilo-ilo, Guimaras, Surigao del Norte, Surigao Del Sur, and Agusan Del Norte.
Signal Number 1 was issued in Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Mindoro Provinces, Marinduque, Northern Palawan, Calamian Group of Island, Southern Quezon, Siquijor, Misamis Oriental, and Agusan del Sur.
Storm surges are expected in the tip of Leyte, Bicol, Camarines, Panay Island, tip of Negros.
Expected rainfall over the weekend as Yolanda makes its way across the country. Source: Project NOAH blog
Canceled flights, classes
Local budget carriers Cebu Pacific, TigerAir Philippines, AirAsia Philippines and AirAsia Zest canceled a number of domestic and international flights as Typhoon Yolanda approached.
Several provinces and cities in Yolanda's path have also canceled classes, along with work in government offices and the public sector except for those in risk reduction, rescue and rehabilitation efforts.
In a message delivered Thursday night on national television, President Benigno Aquino III asked Filipinos to cooperate with authorities and engage in "bayanihan" or community self-help amid the threat of Typhoon Yolanda.
Thousands of residents were moved from coastlines, river banks, and mountain slopes to safer spots, while military transport vehicles were put on standby.
Hospitals were put on alert, with schools and some offices shut and power and communication lines turned off for safety.
Officials used bullhorns to urge residents of coastal and upland villages to move to safer areas, as trees were trimmed and boats dragged to shore.
An estimated 10 million people face disruption from typhoon Yolanda, say international relief agencies that are stepping up operations to tackle the storm.
"The humanitarian impact of Haiyan threatens to be colossal, not only in areas directly in its path, but also for nearby islands such as Bohol," said Patrick Fuller of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Particularly vulnerable, he added, were thousands of people living in makeshift shelters on Bohol after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake last month that killed more than 200 people and displaced thousands. — with reports from Kim Luces & Reuters/TJD/YA/HS, GMA News
